Jazz
Yatra
(Published
in "Studio Systems" Mar-Apr 2002 issue)
The bi-annual event that every jazz lover
in the country looks forward to was finally with us again. Since its start in
1978, I have been fortunate to be a regular visitor to this music happening
and it has served in many ways to revitalise me and expose me to the future
of self-expression in music. Jazz has, as its essential component the element
of improvisation and this is what makes it soul brothers with Indian
Classical music. Many Indian Musicians have taken to this new form like duck
to water especially as today, Jazz has embraced just about every culture that
exists on this earth. In fact, in its present form, it can be totally
mistaken for something other than the standard American blues/bebop variety.
Thankfully, Jazz India had finally decided that
Indian Musicians needed a Jazz Yatra all to themselves and what was presented
in April in Mumbai was a totally Indian affair. It was great to see Indians
finally getting their place in the sun and at times excel at what is
perceived to be a foreign art. Truthfully, Music belongs to the entire world
and has no language and the three-day event was proof of that! Jazz India has
now informed its members that the Indian Jazz Yatra will be an annual event
and we can now be sure that many more musicians will be enthused to enter
this magic world and stretch the boundaries of their creativity
Platform
I have often heard from music industry folks
that the music of today is not selling because it is not as good as before
and yet it is they continue to release mediocre albums along with popular and
safe remix albums. They have shirked their responsibility to develop budding
talent and give them the boast in their initial years so that they can reap
the benefits of their talent later. In the seventies, if it wasn't for the
Simla Beat contest, there couldn't have been those dozens of beat groups who
would channelise their creative energies into making music. As a kid, I
remember practicing for months so that we could win this contest and this
goal inspired us to realize our potential and even outdo ourselves. The
Indian Jazz Yatra will also serve that purpose at a higher level. The
numerous Hindi talent shows have thrown up a great number of singers and
thankfully because of Meri Awaaz Suno" we have a singer of the capability
of Sunithi Chavan as one of the promising Playback singers of the Hindi Film
Industry.
The importance of a platform to nurture talent cannot be underestimated and
it is the responsibility of the Music Industry to sponsor this
responsibility. After all, talent is the raw material of this industry and if
they do not insure its proliferation, they are virtually insuring their
death! This venture will have to be done consistently so that rewards may
follow. Also, this cannot be a one shot program as results can only appear
over a period of time. The accent of this program will have to be on
creativity rather than imitating. The Simla Beat contest forced us to start
composing, as we had to enter the original song category. This required us to
use all our collective creative forces to try and come up with something new
however mediocre it may have been at that time. After all, this was the first
time that we were attempting to write our own songs. Unfortunately, today's
corporate world needs instant results and nobody wants to invest their time,
energy and money on a program that does not generate profits immediately.
Herein lies the difference between a mature industry and otherwise and the
responsibility for this lies solely in the hands of the CEO. It is he who has
the vision of the company as his focus and he would have to counter all sorts
of opposition within his company so that he can allocate funds to a long-term
program of this nature. After all short-term gains and quick promotions is
the name of the game in the corporate jungle. No wonder, when things get hot,
Music Industry heads quickly change jobs to join other industries while the
company is left holding the baby!
Taxes
The one point program of the present Indian
government to totally criminalize Indian society seems to be the only plan
that will meet its target, if the ridiculous plans of the Finance minister
are to be enforced. Almost the entire business community and professionals of
the nation have been brought under the ambit of the notoriously corrupt
Excise and Sales departments of the Central and State governments. More and
more powers have been given to these officers who now can search your homes
and offices without warrant if they suspect evasion.
The erstwhile finance minister who incidentally happens to hail from Bihar,
the most corrupt state in the nation should well be aware of the dangers of
putting the people's lives at the mercy of the unfortunately corrupt
bureaucracy that has proliferated in our country due to the control Raj over
the last fifty years. The only option left to the people doing legitimate
business in these difficult recession times would be to cheat further on
their taxes. Corruption would naturally follow and this would result in a
spiraling wave of depravity. The strangulating tax regime of earlier
governments have ensured that the entire nation is well educated in the art
of cheating and there is not a person who has not cheated in his tax returns.
The continuation of these regressive policies in times of liberalization is a
joke in the face of the Indian people.
As I write this article, the finance minister has fortunately withdrawn the
recent excise imposition on cassette duplication with its amazingly
complicated and dumb way of computing the tax (using the royalty paid to the
artist etc.). This was a surefire way to increase corruption in a industry
that is already beset by huge problems. The impeding news of the closure of
recording companies and important executives losing their jobs have become
the lot of the music industry and the actions of the government seemed like
the final nail in the coffin!
Audio
Delivery
Recently, the British section of AES
organized a two-day seminar on "Audio Delivery: The changing home
experience", a subject close to my heart as it will virtually decide the
future of the music industry as we know it. The captains of the music related
industry spoke about their predictions about the future and what it holds for
all of us. The exciting new ways to deliver Audio to the home both alone and
accompanied by other media: i.e. pictures, text, hyperlinks etc. facilitated
with the rapid increase in data bandwidth has stimulated a range of new
services and technologies to provide audio in a variety of forms. No longer
can audio in the home be quantified by counting records, cassettes or CDs and
the days of physical distribution could be numbered. Perhaps buying a CD
tomorrow will be like buying sheet music today, a specialist niche for
high-end enthusiasts.
Recording and mastering engineers will need to understand the new
possibilities for the music they create and infrastructure engineers will
need to understand the implications of decisions they take. A new and growing
breed of engineer will specialize in home installations to provide new levels
of experience in the home.
BERKLEE
School of Music
Earlier, Music education in India was mainly
an unorganized sector with individuals and small music academies doing the
majority work. The last decade has seen Universities in India take on this
work to a professional level and today you can get a Masters in Music from
leading Universities in India. The one area of Music education, which has
however received no attention from the organized sector in India, is
education in Popular music. The BERKLEE School of Music in Boston, USA is one
such organization that is world renowned in the education of Jazz and now
Rock/Pop music. They have a world renowned faculty and it is the dream of
many an Indian Rock and Jazz musician to enter the portals of this
prestigious college of music and receive the finest music education available
in the world
Samuel D. Skau, the deputy director of admissions was in town recently to
address potential applicants and take them through their questions. Dhanraj,
as I knew him when he was in Bombay, used to play in the Rock band
"Atomic Forest" some years after I stopped singing for them. He
subsequently went to study at BERKLEE and is now working for them. Naturally,
he has a special interest in his fellow countrymen's musical future and is a
source of great strength and support to Indian musicians wishing to enter
this amazing school. He took us through the entire curriculum and explained
the various courses offered along with hostel facilities, fees, scholarships
etc. Indian musicians should avail of this excellent opportunity to use the
services of a friend and study at one of the most renowned and professional
music college of the world.
Nandu Bhende
homesite
:http://nandu_bhende.tripod.com
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